Doppelganger
by Sarah Macdonald
Summary: Buffy’s mental health isn’t all that great after she comes back from helping ward off the apocalypse in LA. Her friends decide that if she just has the chance to say good bye to the one she loves then perhaps Buffy will get better. Spuffy WIP
1. Chapter 1

Doppelganger

Summery

Buffy's mental health isn't all that great after she comes back from helping ward off the apocalypse in LA. Her friends decide that if she just has the chance to say good bye to the one she loves then perhaps Buffy will get better. Knowing Magic however things don't turn out for the best. Set after the end on Angel. WIP

Chapter One

Spike looked around him, complete darkness the only thing he could see. "So this is what it's like to be dead….again" He thought as searched for something in the darkness.

Suddenly a bright light flashed and Spike covered his eyes in a reflex motion. When he opened them again he found himself standing in a circle of light with three figures encircling him just out of the light so that shadows blocked their features.

"Welcome William" one of the figures said stepping into the circle of light. She was an old woman with long grey hair. She had an aura of ancient power that Spike could feel traveling through him.

"Name's Spike lady" Spike shot back, he might be dead but he'd be damned if he was going out a sissy boy.

"Spike dead" A second voice said as they stepped into the light; or more accurately crawled. The figure was crouched with a painted face and a strange lilting style of speech. Spike thought there was something familiar about this figure, a sense that he had felt this before, but he couldn't quite pin down the sensation.

"Ya, I got that much" Spike said rolling his eyes, the last thing he remembered was being torn apart by a hoard of demons. Of course he was dead, silly bint didn't need to rub it in though.

"William, she needs you go to her." The third figure said stepping into the light, a hooded cloak blocking her features. Now spike knew he knew this one, the voice, the way she moved….but who was it?

"Go to who?" Spike said confused. He was dead where could he go.

"The slayer she needs you." The figure said looking up at Spike.

"Who are you?" Spike yelled "Take off that hood!"

"The figure pulled the hood back and Spike let out and involuntary gasp. "Buffy?" He stammered. No, she couldn't be dead too! She had been miles away when that last battle had gone down. He had made sure of that.

"No." The figure said shaking her head. "We are the guardians of the slayer's power. I am not Buffy, but I have access to her feelings, thoughts, and emotions. This is the best form I could take so your mind can conceive of what I am. She needs you William. Go to her."

"But I'm dead." Spike said wondering if they had vodka in the afterlife because he was sure going to need a drink after this conversation….and maybe a cold shower if the slayer wannabe kept looking at him like that.

"Spike dead" The painted figure said again in her strange lilting manor.

"She needs you William. Find her. Comfort her. Heal her." The slayer figure laid a hand on his cheek. "Have a nice life William."

Spike was about to say something when he felt the ground fall away from him. Abruptly, Spike started tumbling towards the earth.

"Buffy! Buffy!" Dawn was panicking trying to get her sister to wake up. Dawn knew that Buffy often had nightmares, especially after she had come back from LA, but she had always been able to wake her older sister up. Buffy was thrashing around in the bed, completely engrossed in the nightmare, and Dawn could tell that this was a bad one.

Finally, Buffy sat up with a start and immediately began to cry. Dawn just held her, unsure of what she could do to help her sister. The nightmares had been going on for weeks now. Giles had told Dawn that they might eventually stop, but Dawn knew that he was just as worried about Buffy's state of mental health as she was. In fact, the last time they had let Buffy go out patrolling she didn't even had the will to fight, and had almost gotten herself killed.

Buffy's crying eventually subsided, and Dawn went back to her bed on the other side of the hotel room. When Buffy and Dawn had been living in Italy they had had an apartment that was more then big enough for the two of them, each sister having a separate room. Here in London, however, it was a different story. Giles had suggested after the massacre in LA that Buffy needed to come to London to help train the girls, but it was more then that Dawn knew. Dawn knew Giles needed to keep an eye on Buffy. Unfortunately, apartments were hard to find in London these days, and the two girls had ended up staying in a rather shoddy hotel.

"Dawnie?" Dawn heard her sister call out into the darkness.

"I'm here Buffy. I was just going back to bed."

"No, please stay with me" Buffy said sounding for the first time like the younger sibling. It was nearly killing Dawn to see Buffy like this, after all Buffy had always been the strong one; the one who was willing to jump off towers to save a life. Now all she sounded was broken.

"Alright," Dawn conceded, crawling back into bed with her sister. "But you better not hog all the blankets." This didn't even raise a response out of Buffy and Dawn sighed wrapping her arms protectively around the broken girl beside her.

It wasn't long before Buffy heard the soft breathing coming from her sister that indicated the other girl had fallen asleep. "The dream can't be true." She thought, cuddling up to Dawn's side for comfort. But it felt like a slayer dream. It was too real, to clear. Not at all like the nightmares she had been having in the last couple of weeks.

There was absolutely no way that the dream was true Buffy eventually decided. For one thing Spike was dead; she knew he was dead. He had been at the battle in LA and few friends had walked away from that apocalypse. Spike had not been one of them. Also in the dream he was in a hospital hooked up to a heart monitor. Since Spike's heart no longer beat, it was impossible. Impossible…if she just kept repeating that to herself, she could get through this. She was beginning to wonder if her mind hated her.

A few blocks away a John Doe lay in a hospital bed hooked up to a heart monitor that beat at strong regular intervals.

"It's a shame." The nurse said, talking to the patient as she adjusted the medication on his IV drip. "They don't think you'll ever wake up. I would sure have liked to know you, even pale and sick, I can tell you're hot."

"Flirting with the patients in the coma ward now, Emily?" The doctor teased as he walked in. "And here I thought you were in love with me." Giving Emily a fake pout that only succeeded in making her laugh at him, he took a look at the patients chart.

"Looks good for the night Emily. You almost done your shift?"

"Yup! And all ready for dinner with you." She replied teasingly a sexy glint in her eye.

"It's not dinner I'm interested in tonight." The doctor said pulling Emily into his arms, causing her to emit yet another playful giggle.

"Watch it," she teased "Or I might trade you in for the cute boy in the bed."

"Trade me in for a boy with a bad bleach job?" The doctor mocked. "I'm never going to let you do that, baby. Come on lets go to dinner." With that he led the pretty little nurse out of the room, leaving only the steady sound of the heart monitor.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I know he's alive!" Buffy screamed at Giles. "Why won't you just let me go look for him!"

Giles ran a hand through his hair feeling Buffy's pain. When Jenny had died a few years ago he would have done anything to bring her back from the dead, the same had been true when Buffy had jumped from the tower. There was nothing he could do either time to bring them back, and God knew that Willow should not have brought Buffy back from the dead.

"Please Buffy" Giles said calmly, attempting to make his slayer see reason. "You know there is no way that Spike could have survived. Even if he managed to escape the demons, which eye witnesses say he didn't, he surely would have been burned to death in the fires that raged through LA. You have better things to do then sitting around worrying about your dead lover." Giles said the last bit a little more forcefully then he had intended but he knew that he was right. Buffy needed to be training the new slayers. Just because the apocalypse had been adverted, didn't mean there wasn't still plenty of work to be done.

Most of Los Angeles had been destroyed when the demons had come. Now many demons were still causing havoc in California and if the new slayers were not trained soon there would be widespread panic. Although most people for the time being attributed the destruction of LA to a fire that spun out of control, it was getting harder everyday to keep a lid on the real cause of the destruction. At the moment Giles had every slayer that had fought in the hellmouth as well as the most powerful witches and warlocks that he knew tracking down the demons. Giles had also heard that Riley Finn and his wife were taking a team through California trying to help where they could. He could only hope that for the moment that was enough.

"Fine! If you won't help me, I'll find him myself." Buffy said in a clipped tone. Turning on her heal and heading for the door.

Giles sighed and pulled his glasses off his nose. "Buffy come back" he shouted just before she reached the door. "Look I'll have one of the seer's in the coven look for Spike, alright? You can't possibly search all the hospitals in the world anyway. But Buffy if he was alive don't you think he would have called us or… or something by now. The hospital makes no sense either. For God's sake Buffy; the man doesn't have a heart beat."

"I swear these dreams are different Giles! They are too clear. They must be slayer dreams. They have to be."

"And maybe you just want them to be. Look Buffy we have excellent counselors on staff for the girls now, maybe you should think about seeing one of them." That earned him a glare from the blond and Giles couldn't help thinking that if looks could kill he would be dead.

"I don't need a counselor, I need Spike! Just find him." With that Buffy stormed out the door leaving Giles standing behind holding his glasses in his right hand.

Giles sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day. He needed to do something to bring his slayer back, and he needed to do it soon. The problem was that the person he needed to accomplish his plan wasn't going to like his idea. No, she wasn't going to like it one little bit.

"You want me to do what?!" Willow looked at Giles as if he had lost his mind. "You are not seriously telling me that you had me teleport half way around the world, which for the record takes a lot out of a girl, to play with dolls, are you?"

"Well, they aren't dolls they are talismans, and yes sort of." Giles answered a little weakly. "The spell will allow you to bring Spike back from dead long enough to accomplish one goal; that is saying goodbye to Buffy."

"What am I Drucilla now?" Willow grumbled as Giles gathered supplies and handed them to the witch. "Honestly Giles, I don't think this is a good idea" Willow said speaking louder this time. "Remember what happened last time I played with dead, Buffy came back all not happy like. Maybe Spike is better off dead."

"This is a different spell Willow. I would never suggest you attempt to raise Spike from the dead permanently, but this will allow Buffy a chance to say goodbye, and then perhaps she will stop entertaining the idea of getting herself killed."

Willow had heard about the incident while Buffy was patrolling the other night. She also knew that if Giles hadn't gotten worried about her, there would be one less slayer in the world right now. That was the deciding factor for Willow. She loved Buffy far too much to let the other girl do herself in. "Alright Giles you win show me the spell" Willow said as she grabbed the spell book from his hands.

"Thank you Willow, I think you are doing the right thing."

"We'll see how Buffy feels about this when she finds out what we've done" Willow muttered as she drew a circle on the floor with sand. "Alright hand me my dolls and I'll start" She said holding out her hand to Giles.

"They're talismans," he grumbled handing the small stick figures to Willow.

"Buffy, I'm going out." Dawn called as she pulled her jacket on. She cast a worried glance at her sister who had yet to move from the couch that afternoon. "Maybe you could try and umm move while I'm gone?"

There was no reply from Buffy and Dawn just sighed as she opened the door. She didn't want to leave Buffy alone, but there was no food left in the hotel, and she was going to starve soon. For Buffy's part it didn't seem like she cared about food one way or the other.

Buffy heard the door as it closed behind Dawn. She knew that she should be the one to go and get the groceries, but she had no desire to move at the moment. She continued to stare blankly at the television, trying to remember exactly what she was watching. She couldn't remember. Eventually she gave up and flicked the TV off. It was no use watching something when you couldn't remember what it was you were watching. Buffy couldn't even remember what she was supposed to be doing at that moment. Likely patrolling or something of that nature she thought, but she didn't care anymore.

Just then a noise startled Buffy into sitting upright. Grabbing the stake she had tucked into the couch cushions, she turned to face the noise behind her. Homes may be safe from vampires, but hotel rooms were considered open territory. There was no one behind her however.

"Must have been a mouse." Buffy thought as she looked around the room. But as Buffy turned around the stake clattered to the floor. "Spike?" Buffy choked out.

"In the flesh, love." Spike answered. "You might want that stake though; you never know what nasty things might be entering your house. Now how about a little play time?" At those words Buffy watched stupefied as his face changed from human to demon.

Willow stood up from her seat in the center of the circle, her facial expression displaying her worry.

"What's the matter Willow?" Giles asked "Did the spell work?"

"I don't know Giles, something's wrong, very wrong…I…I can feel it in the spell."

"Break the talismans" Giles said reaching for the figures in the center on the circle. He and Willow quickly snapped all the magical objects, but Willow could still feel the spell at work.

"We have to go find Buffy, Giles! This isn't working, I think something is wrong with the spell!"

"What's the matter Pet? Don't want to fight back? You know it really isn't any fun when you don't play the game." Spike sneered as he stood over Buffy, who was already battered and bruised from being knocked around by the vampire. Spike bared his fangs. Picking her up he stroked her hair before pulling her head back to reveal her neck. He leaned in a smelled it. "Mmm, it's been too long slayer." He said as nuzzled the place where her neck joined her shoulder. "I'm really going to enjoy this you know."

Buffy came to her senses at that moment and pushed Spike away from her. "Why are you doing this, Spike? Why do you want to hurt me?"

"That's what I do Slayer. Vampire remember? Now be a good girl and hold still so I can suck you dry. Say Goodbye Buffy."

"No." Buffy said shaking her head, unable to comprehend that Spike wanted to kill her again. He had been fighting by her side for years now.

She didn't have time to think much through however because Spike raised a fist and knocked her into the wall. Normally this would not have been enough to knock Buffy out, but with the stress she had been under and the fact that she hadn't eaten in days, when she hit the wall head first she was out cold.

Spike shrugged, "That was easy. Oh well love, I'm still going to eat you." With that he lifted the unconscious slayer into his arms and brushed the hair away from her neck. Sinking his fangs in, he reveled at the taste of her blood. It was so strong.

The door burst open and Willow rushing came in, casting a spell that knocked the slayer out of Spike's arms. Giles followed, close at her heel, managing to look worried and angry at the same time.

"Buffy!" Willow screamed when she noticed her friend unconscious and bleeding on the floor. She brushed past Spike leaving him with room to run towards the door. Giles made to grab the vampire but Spike twisted out of his grip and escaped into the night.

"Giles!" Willow screamed as she bent over her friend. "It looks bad, Giles! We are going to need to take her to the hospital."

"Yes, I'll go get the car" Giles said heading for the door. "You see what you can do to get the bleeding to stop." With that, Giles headed out the door leaving a very worried looking witch with the unconscious slayer.

A/N So that's it for now, I'll try to update by Wednesday but I have no idea what will happen since I'm supposed to actually have a life outside of fanfiction (at least that's what my friends keep telling me). Oh Yes and review...please...they make me feel special so I write more! If you like it let me hear it, actually if you hated it let me hear it, maybe you can improve my writing. Constructive criticism though please...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Spike's head hurt. That was the one thing he knew, everything else was just a blur. He seemed to remember falling. People had been talking around him, and then that was it. Falling…dying...that was it! He had died. He didn't remember death hurting the head before, but he supposed that all deaths were different. Slowly he opened his eyes, and saw a bright light. He couldn't believe that he had ended up in heaven, but hell was sure getting a lot brighter.

"Bloody, hell that's sunlight!" Spike yelled as he jumped off the bed to get away from the rays. Tucking himself into the corner Spike felt his face for burns. There weren't any. Then he realized that his ass was cold. Finally it dawned on Spike, he wasn't dead at all; he was in the bleeding hospital. Not only that, he was the patient.

The eerie sound of the flat-lined heart monitor brought Emily running into the room. She looked around and found the unknown coma patient huddled in the corner. He was Awake! Not only that, he was out of bed!

"Hey! You're awake!" Emily said as she walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You must have had quite a shock waking up here. Will you be alright for a moment while I go get the doctor?" Spike nodded his head still confused, wondering why they had yet to figure out that he was dead. He really should run away now, but he just didn't have the energy to move. Getting to the corner had taken all of his strength.

A doctor came rushing in followed closely by the little brown haired nurse whose name tag said she was Emily. Spike looked at the doctor wondering how long it would be before he called in his colleges to help figure out why this patient could live without a beating heart.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked in a kindly way.

"My head hurts, and I could really do with a shot of whiskey." Spike said looking at the doctor with a pained expression. He was in the hospital it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that he was not in peak physical condition.

"Well, I tell you what." The doctor said "Why don't you let us help you back into bed, and we'll do something about the pain in your head. Can't promise the whiskey though." He added with a chuckle. "You've pulled out all your IV's so we are going to have to put those back in, but it shouldn't take too long to get you comfortable again."

"No, I can't go back to the bed," Spike said his mind murky "It's in the sun."

"Well alright, Emily can pull the curtains for you." The doctor said wondering about the strange comment. Maybe it was hurting his eyes he eventually decided. Emily pulled the curtains and came back to stand on the other side of Spike, together they lifted him off the floor and placed him back in the bed. Spike hated every moment of it.

"So, mystery man," Emily giggled "You have a name?" She reinserted the IV into Spikes arm as she spoke.

"Spike," He muttered, refusing to look at the woman who had just lifted him off the floor.

"Strange name," she replied. "Must be a nickname. You got a full one?"

"Ya, it's William…Pratt I think. It's been a while since I've used that one."

"Really? Could have fooled me Mystery Man" Emily gathered the garbage she had created and slipped the heart monitor back onto Spikes finger. The monitor returned to the strong regular beats it had been blurting out before being rudely interrupted.

Spike stared at the monitor with a sense on wonder. "My heart is beating?" He asked.

Emily looked at him like he had lost his head. "Yes," she said slowly. "Generally it is better that way. Makes you more alive. I think you should try and get some sleep honey. I'll be right down the hall. Just push that button if you need anything." With that Emily left the room, leaving an incredulous Spike in her wake.

"Maybe, I'm dreaming" Spike thought absently. This led to him wondering if you could dream when you were dead. Spike stopped thinking right there. He was tired and his head hurt. He didn't understand what was going on, but he was sure he was going to wake up soon anyway so it didn't matter. Spike closed his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.

"What did you do?" Buffy glared at the two squirming people in front of her. For their part Willow and Giles managed to look even guiltier then they already did.

"N…Nothing" Willow stammered out, looking up at Buffy through downcast eyes.

"Which totally explains why you are here and not in California at the moment? Seriously, Giles what did you do?" Buffy favored her watcher with a glare that only she could give, and Giles relented.

"Now Buffy, you have to understand that what we did was for your own good." Giles took his glasses off and cleaned then, showing his agitation.

"You know, every time you start something that way, I end up in a hospital bed. Now tell me, what you did!"

"It was just a little spell, Buffy. I swear!" Willow looked so upset that Buffy almost forgave her; then she tried to move and felt her broken ribs. She decided she was going to make Willow suffer a bit longer.

"It was supposed to bring Spike back to say goodbye to you, so you could go back to your work and let go of this Spike thing." Giles put in.

"But it didn't work…or rather it worked but not right." Willow said.

"So let me get this straight," Buffy said looking between her best friend and her watcher. "You brought Spike back from the dead so that he could say goodbye to me and be gone again. And you did this why? Because bringing people back from the dead has worked oh so well in the past?"

"I did it because you needed to let it go Buffy!" Giles said finally losing his cool. "You were fixated on the matter and you wouldn't go see a counselor. I needed to do something!"

"You could have looked for him. What made you think that saying goodbye to yet another person close to me would help?" Buffy said quietly her eyes shinning with tears.

"Look Buffy, I'm sorry" Giles gave in. He couldn't stand seeing Buffy cry, she was more like his daughter then anything else. "I just wanted to make it better."

"I hate to cut into this lovely conversation." Xander said as he walked into the hospital room holding a bouquet of flowers "But aren't we all forgetting something here, like I don't know, evil Spike. That is, if that is different from any other kind of Spike."

"Xander!" Buffy cried reaching up for a gentle hug from her long time friend. "When did you get here….and what did you have to do with this." Buffy said the last part with a glare that could have frozen boiling water.

Xander held up his hands in self defense. "Giles called me last night while you were still out of it, and I flew in this morning. For once I am completely innocent. I promise no singing and dancing either."

"The singing and dancing would be kind of fun right now." Willow muttered from the corner where she had retreated to hide.

"Don't tempt him." Buffy said from the bed, "You never know what Xander will take as serious and I don't want Dawn to end up in a hell dimension. Oh my God Dawn! I completely forgot about her!"

"No worries, she came to check on you last night and is staying with Fiona, the seerer in the coven until you are better." Giles assured her. "Why don't you try and get some sleep for now, while Willow and I see if we can figure out what went wrong with the spell. Willow says her locator spells aren't working and Fiona says that she has double vision when she tries to see Spike. This is all so very strange."

His last words were lost on Buffy, however, because after being assured that Dawn was safe she had drifted of to sleep and heal. Her friends crept quietly out of the hospital room each consumed with their own thoughts.

Spike woke up with a start, he had been dreaming about her again. She was in trouble and she needed him. He needed to get out of this damn hospital! He was feeling better already and he knew he would heal on his own if they would just let him go.

The Doctors weren't so sure, however. They couldn't believe the rate at which he was healing, but they still were not ready to believe that Spike could go home. In their opinion someone who had just spent close to six weeks in a coma needed to stay in the hospital a little longer then three days.

Spike wanted out though, he had already spent too much time lying aroundand he felt out of shape and sore. He had finally come to terms with the fact that he was alive again and had even remembered his strange conversation with the guardians, but as to exactly what he was now he was still unsure. He was healing faster then a human should have and from what he could tell he had retained his vampire strength. He could no longer vamp out though. He was at a strange crossroads, not quite human, not quite demon. He was itching to explore this new gift he had been given. First however, needed to get out of this hospital.

"And find her." He thought to himself.

Emily walked into the room preparing to give Spike his medications. "You are looking better everyday honey" She said cheerfully. "I bet you would be even better if you could get a good nights sleep though."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked, wondering what on earth she could be talking about. He had slept through two nights in a row.

"You keep yelling a girl's name in your sleep" Emily said conversationally. "It's a good thing you're on a coma ward or we might worry about you waking up the other patients."

"Buffy" Spike said under his breath, knowing exactly what name he was yelling out.

"Ya, that's it," Emily answered. "It's such a strange name. You don't hear it very often. Is it short of Elizabeth?"

"No, that's just her name." Spike answered. Wishing she was here right now.

"Really? Because there was a girl who checked in downstairs a few days ago, and her name was Buffy too. Last name was a season or something. Poor thing she was beat up pretty bad. She lost a lot of blood too. I usually don't work that ward but I was covering a shift for my friend. Her friends were pretty worried about her."

"Did you say she is here?" Spike asked, thinking it was too good to be true.

"Well I assume she's still here." Emily answered oblivious to the interest of her conversation partner.

Spike jumped up and ran towards that door only to find himself attached to the bed by the IV's. Ripping them out of his arm he headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Emily called after him. "You can't take your IV's out!" But Spike was already down the hall and had no intention of coming back. With nothing else to do, Emily ran after him.

A/N So, you guys got an update early. What can I say, I was bored. Enjoy and please review it makes me all happy on the inside!!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

Spike took the stairs in leaps and bounds, skipping whole flights in his rush to get to Buffy. He knew the nurse was after him and that eventually she would catch up, but he had outrun her for the moment, so she wouldn't be able to stop him.

Now what floor would she be on? "Damn!" Spike thought as he realized that the nurse hadn't mentioned the floor that Buffy had been admitted to. But then he saw Willow leaving from a door a few levels below. "Luck is certainly on my side today!" Spike mentally congratulated himself, as he leapt down the last few stairs and entered the door.

Walking up to the nurses station Spike asked where he could find Buffy. The nurses didn't even look up as one pointed towards a door in the rear of the ward. Spike sauntered over to the door and rapped sharply before entering.

Buffy looked up from the book she was reading as Spike entered her room. Her mouth fell open as she saw who had come in. Leaping up from the bed, she grabbed the stake that Giles had left for her and walked towards Spike, hitting him squarely in the nose. The blow knocked Spike off his feet so he landed flat on the floor. Buffy came to stand over him and placed a foot on his chest.

"Oi, Slayer! What the bloody hell was that for?" Spike grimaced as he wiped a hand across the back of his nose. He was trying very hard not to notice the wonderful view the ill fitting hospital gown was giving him of Buffy's panties.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Buffy seethed at Spike "You know perfectly well what this is all about. I may have not been willing to fight you the other day, but today, well today is a different story."

Xander and Giles came into the room stopping short when they saw the Slayer on top of Spike.

The two men exchanged a look and grabbed Spike by the shoulders hauling him to his feet. "What the bloody hell is going on here!" Spike yelled as the grips on his arms tightened.

"Gee, I don't know what this is about at all Spike. You could try beating Buffy into a bloody pulp and putting her in the hospital, though!" Xander said his sarcasm evident.

"I did no such thing!" Spike defended himself. "I would never hurt Buffy, she knows that! Tell them Buffy."

Buffy avoided his gaze unsure of what to say. "I used to know that, before you died." Buffy mumbled softly.

"What the…? Slayer?" Spike was so confused at this point, that he couldn't even begin to comprehend what was happening.

Emily rushed into the room out of breath. Stooping and placing her hands on her knees, Emily looked at what was going on. She had had an idea that Spike would not be wanted in the room of this young woman, but it was even more serious then Emily had thought.

"There you are!" Emily said glaring at Spike. "I told you not to come down here and now look what you have gotten yourself into. Spike, please come back upstairs with me. You shouldn't be out of bed at all!"

Giles, Xander and Buffy all exchanged glances. "Upstairs?" Giles finally squeaked out.

"Been in a coma for the last six weeks they tell me." Spike said suddenly getting a smug look on his face. "Got myself a beating heart and everything!"

Giles looked at the very confused nurse for clarification and she nodded. "He's really fixated on that beating heart." She shrugged.

"Oh this is SPIKE!" Giles said with a mock tone on realization as Buffy put on her best I-told-you-so look. "See we thought it was his twin brother…umm…Mike."

"Yes," Buffy nodded, "his very not nice, twin brother Mike. So you can leave him here with us."

Emily looked around the room confused. Not that that was a new state of mind since this mystery patient had come to the hospital. "Alright," she shrugged. "But don't be too long, Spike. We really need to get you back on those IV's."

"I think Xander, we had better go and locate Willow." Giles said realization of exactly what this meant dawning on him. "Come along, they will be just fine on their own." Dragging the reluctant Xander out of the room, Giles followed Emily out the door.

Buffy walked forward and grabbed Spike by the shoulders. Her grip dangerously hard

"Are you going to hit me again now that we are alone?" Spike asked his hands coming up to defend his face. He didn't think he could handle his nose being broken again. Instead, Buffy surprised Spike by pulling him into a rough kiss.

A/N This chapter is a little short, but I really wanted to end there….mwhahaha…I mean sorry. Reviews Please!!! They are my gods and I wish to worship at their typewritten alters.


	5. Chapter 5

-1Chapter Five

Spike was so startled by the kiss that at first he didn't even react to it. It didn't take long for him to start feeling the first waves of pleasure however as Buffy roughly ground her lips into his holding his head down to her height. Spike had just wrapped his arms around Buffy's waist when she broke off the kiss.

"It's so good to have you back Spike." Buffy said softly tears shinning in her eyes. "I really thought I would never see you again. Spike opened his mouth to comfort her but instead found himself flying across the room and slamming into the wall again.

"Bloody Hell Woman!" The blond yelled at Buffy who was standing across the room with her arms folded across her chest. "What in the love of god was that for?"

"Some people call after they die you know." Buffy stated as she examined her nails.

"I thought we covered that. I was in a coma, you know the unconscious kind." 

"And the year before?"

"Oh, that death…" Spike started squirming and avoided her gaze.

"Do you know how I found out that you were alive again?" Buffy leveled him with a gaze that could have frozen the fire hell dimensions. Spike decided he was going to dub that look her "icy cold stare of death." "One of the seer's in the coven told me, right before the battle in LA. So I went to the battle, only to find out that when I got there you were dead."

"Well technically, I wasn't dead at all…" All this did was earn Spike the icy cold stare of death again. Spike sat on the floor prepared to let her have it out on him. She was right after all, he should have told her.

"I have spent the last six weeks in hell because I thought that I had failed you and just when I had gotten comfortable with my misery here you are all alive." At that Buffy burst into tears, and Spike looked on confused. He honestly didn't know whether to go to her and try and comfort her. In the end, though his need to alleviate her tears won out and he stood up and gathered her in his arms, rocking her back and forth. Slowly the tears lessened and turned into hiccups.

"I'm sorry Buffy, I messed up I know it. I really wanted to go and see you but… I heard that you were dating the immortal and well, I figured you had moved on."

"You heard I was what? Spike I never dated the immortal, not really anyway. We went out a few times and ya he's a good dancer, but I mean date him?" Buffy looked amused at the comment, but Spike was just annoyed. He mentally reminded himself to stake Angel the next time their paths crossed.

"Spike!" A voice called from the doorway. Spike turned around to see Emily doing her best to look pissed off at him while suppressing a giggle. "We need to get you back on those IV's. Do you really want to end up back in a coma?" Spike turned around to face her and heard Buffy suppressing a giggle from behind him. The two girls exchanged a glace over his shoulder and bust into full laughter.

"Ok, I give" Spike said, "What exactly is so funny?"

"Next time you decide to go roaming the halls, you might want to consider a dressing gown" Buffy said moving in behind him and giving Spike a playful swat on his bare bottom.

"What? And leave my best feature covered!" Spike scoffed as Emily handed him a dressing gown and walked with him out of the room leaving Buffy to chuckle softly to herself.

"I'll get the bloody bint!" Spike growled to himself as he stubbed a cigarette out on the woman he had captured to ease his need to feed for the night. She gave a moan of pain but it was muffled because he had gagged her before chaining her to the wall. Her screaming had really gotten quite annoying.

It was no accident that this girl was a skinny blond. The Vampire had an obsession and anything he wanted to feed on at the moment looked a great deal like the slayer. He had always had slayer on his mind, but this one…this one was personal. He would enjoy killing her greatly, that is if he decided to let her die. He was considering turning her that way he could keep her at his side. He had never wanted to do that before, but this slayer was different.

He had found this girl at a local club dancing with a group of friends. He had wanted her in that moment as he saw her wiggle her hips to the beat. There was something familiar about the scene but his need for blood had drowned out anything else in his mind. She had been easy to lure away from the group, childish and immature as she was. After she allowed him to buy her a few drinks, it was easy to get her into the alley where he knocked her out before taking her back to his place so he could play with her a little longer. They had passed a few people outside the club but he had smiled and just joked about his girl drinking too much. The idiots had accepted it without question. Now she was his.

"What do you think love, shall I kill her then eat her? The other way around? Oh that's right I forgot: you can't talk right now, can you." The evil grin that formed on his face caused the girls eyes to widen. He was generally enjoying tormenting her before he went in for the kill and on a greater level that was exactly what he planned to do with Buffy.

Spike began to caress her body. Even though her clothing he could feel her getting hot, a combination of the alcohol he had plied her with earlier and his attention on the right places of her body. She began to cry, making spike smile.

"Yes," he said stroking the side of the girls face. "The girl will beg me to kill her by the time I'm done." With that he leaned down and bit the girl's neck causing her to emit one last cry of pain before slumping lifeless against the wall. 

A/N I'm not even going to try and apologise…lets just hope that the new chapters keep coming. If you want them faster you know what you can do? REVIEW!!


	6. Chapter 6

-1Chapter Six

"Spike has a beating what!?" Willow said so loudly that Giles and Xander were sure the entire hospital could hear her. Outside the common area a nurse passed by giving the three a disapproving look before carrying on with her work.

"What exactly does that mean for the spell" Xander asked, clearly as confused as Willow.

"I honestly have no idea" Giles said as he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "but I do know that we have two Spikes running around."

"As if one wasn't bad enough" Xander mumbled as he put his feet up on the common room's table. "And at least one of them has it in for Buffy." The same nurse who had glared them down earlier appeared again just in time to give Xander the evil eye. Quickly Xander removed his offending feet placing them back on the floor.

"We need to talk with Spike, or whoever is upstairs in that bed." Giles said getting to his feet and walking across to room "We'll only know what we are dealing with when we discover exactly what he is."   
Spike stared as Giles Willow and Xander entered his room. Emily rolled her eyes and prepared herself for more work. As far as she could tell the only thing that was going to result from this was more IV's for her to replace and a patient who would be harder then ever to calm down.

The three surrounded Spike with Willow and Xander on each side of him and Giles at the foot of the bed. Xander looked like he would gladly kill him if he even so much as hinted at a wrong answer, but as far as Spike could tell the other two were willing to hear him out. No doubt they were looking for the answer to his beating heart. Well they would just have to get in line Spike decided, he wanted to know first.

"So, Spike" Willow said shooting a look at the little nurse who was determined to remain at the door to Spikes room. "Anything unusual happen lately?"

Spike thought that Willow had completely gone out of her mind this time. Anything unusual? The whole bloody thing was unusual. He was a Vampire, hooked up to heart monitors that were giving off sounds from a heart that was actually pumping blood. To top it off he was lying in direct sunlight and not going up in flame. What part of the usual did the little witch think was left here?

"Perhaps it would be best if we discussed this in private" Giles said clearing his throat and shooting a glance at Emily who was still standing watch over the door.

Of course Spike thought, how could he have been so stupid. He couldn't exactly talk about vampires coming back from the dead in front of Emily without ending up in the phyc ward. Thank god Giles had said something before he had opened his big mouth.

"Emily, it's alright" Spike said flashing his best smile at the protective nurse "They are actually friends of mine" He stopped to glare at Xander before he said something that would cause the girl to stay. "They just want to make sure I'm alright, could you maybe give us a few minutes to talk?"

"Alright," Emily said giving the three visitors a look that told them not to mess with her patient. "But not too long. After that fiasco downstairs you need to get some rest."

"So," Willow said seating herself on the bed beside Spike. "Start at the beginning and don't leave anything out."


	7. Chapter 7

-1Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah i own nothing blah blah blah

Spike repeated everything he knew that had happened to him so far. Willow, Giles, and even Xander asking the occasional question. Unfortunately for them most of the question Spike had no answer for.

It wasn't long however before Emily appeared at the door ready to shoo away the offending visitors. She was beginning to feel especially protective of Spike, a fact her boyfriend had not failed to notice, and she had no desire to see him overwhelmed with emotion.

In the last three days she had spent at Spike's bedside she had found him to be interesting and flirtatious even if arrogance was mixed into his demeanour. Although he looked no older then 30, he claimed to not remember his age, Spike had the aura of someone who had lived a long time, and had seen many cruelties. When Emily asked about his life she could get only snippets and he refused to talk about anything in great detail. She wished she had more time to get to know him before he was sent home, but she knew he was being released the following morning. After waking up he had healed at a super human rate.

It took Emily nearly 10 minutes to convince the three to leave Spikes bedside saying they would see him all they wated the following day. None of the scoobies were happy about it though, they still had questions that weren't answered and Willow had a feeling that the more was left unanswered, the more unexpected surprises they were going to get.

As luck would have it both Buffy and Spike were released from the hospital late the following afternoon. Both of them leaving doctors and nurses confused at the rate of their ability to heal. By all accounts both should have had a much longer hospital stay, but there was nothing to be said for it, all their blood work appeared normal and both parties seemed to be in excellent health.

"So," Willow said as she pushed Buffy's wheelchair down the corridor towards the main entrance Giles was waiting "Shall we go and get our customary 'yea, Buffy was released from the hospital' ice cream?"

"Only if we don't have to bring this freak of nature" Xander grumbled as he pushed an equally happy looking Spike. Spike had fought with Emily about taking the wheeled chair for almost a full hour. In his opinion if he was well enough to go home, he was well enough to walk to the front doors. In the end Emily had won by threatening to keep him for testing. When he had found out who would be doing the pushing he had almost decided that the extra hospital time was worth it. Buffy was leaving however and there was no way he was going to be stuck in a coma ward when he could be fighting at her side. She had gone long enough without him.

Buffy hummed happily as she pretended not to notice the strain between the former vampire and her friend. "of course we are all going for ice cream" She said as she gathered her bag a little closer to keep it from falling off her lap. In truth Buffy would have much rather walked as well but she had been in the hospital enough times to know that it was a losing argument to be allowed to walk to the front door. She had suggested that Willow push Spike simply to relieve some of the tension, but Willow had refused insisting that the only person who would ever get to push Buffy out of the hospital was herself.

As Willow helped Buffy move from the chair into the car Buffy couldn't help chuckling about the much better treatment she was receiving. Spike had been practically thrown into the car by Xander who was still grumbling about having to have Spike in the same car. If Xander hadn't hated Spike before he had "died" at the hell mouth, he sure as hell would have now. Not only had he watched one of his best friends mope around for months after Spike died thinking it was her fault, but she had then pushed herself towards even more unsuitable companions. The immortal for example. Xander didn't care what she said about not really dating him, even a few dates was too much for him.

"Ok," Giles said as they all piled into his car. " I suppose that we are going to be discussing our next move over ice cream"

"Of course," Willow grinned. "Ice cream and Buffy-out-of-hospital always go together."

"When don't ice cream and Buffy go together" Giles chuckled as he shifted into drive "We'll just swing by and pick up Dawn first, I have no intention of being yelled at by a teenager."

Spike paced the crypt he was using as a home for the time being. He had never felt so restless. Damn that girl was going to be the end of him. He was even becoming willing to brave the sunlight to get to her. He had gone back to the hotel but she was gone. He should have known she would move.

Every night he had been out prowling the cemeteries looking for her. Her scent. Her taste. After his searches had turned up nothing he had finally paid a witch to do a locator spell but her signal was blocked, likely that damn powerful red head who followed her around like a puppy.

He had to have a challenge. Tonight he needed to feed off something more then whimpering school girls. He decided that tonight he would take a stroll downtown away from the cemeteries and the bars.

As he headed down a rather busy street he suddenly felt it. Her presence. Her scent. Desire moved through him, not just the desire to feed, but the desire to possess. At last he was going to have that girl all to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

-1Chapter Eight

Possess that was the only thought that came to his mind. He wanted her, needed her, more then he had ever before; he was drawn to the Slayer. It was as if some force beyond his control was guiding him towards her. It was that simple. He would kill this Slayer. Say goodbye to her forever and make her his own. He could never leave her, but what an interesting vampire she would make.

A grin spread across his face as he strutted along the street. To all passers by he looked as if he was besotted, a fool in love. In a way that was exactly what Spike was, but the human definition of love no longer applied in this case.

"I want Chocolate!" Dawn cried as she ran into the ice cream shop. Buffy sighed and wondered if her little sister would ever grow up. Dawn had asked a million questions on the way to the ice cream shop. So many that even Giles patience had finally broken with the girl and he had snapped that they didn't know the answers. Dawn didn't care that she was getting snapped at. All she cared about was the fact that not only was Spike alive but her older sister was out of the hospital. Still she felt that she was being left out of something again. It seemed to Dawn that there was more to Spikes mysterious arrival then they were telling her.

"I'm being left out again aren't I" Dawn pouted as they sat down to enjoy their cones. Everyone sighed in unison. They should have known that Dawn would not have given up so easily.

"we aren't leaving you out of anything Dawnie" Willow said consolingly "We just really aren't sure what is happening ourselves. How can we tell you what we don't know?"

"But there is something you are leaving out" Dawn insisted. "I know that a vampire took Buff out but how are we supposed to stop this from happening again and how did it happen in the first place?"

"I warned you that the hotel was open territory to vampires" Giles chided "or did you forget that?" Dawn hung her head she had indeed forgotten that the hotel was not considered a "home" in the demon world.

"Great" Giles sighed "It's a good thing that I have gotten you a Buffy a place to live finally! You need to start remembering these things Dawn. You are always in danger as long as you are close to Buffy, not to mention the fact that trouble seems to follow you around."

"Well it wasn't my idea to stay in a hotel" Dawn pouted again getting defensive. There was nothing she hated more than one of Giles lectures and today was supposed to be happy. She wasn't a little kid anymore she would be going to college in the fall. She knew how to look after herself.

"Never mind lecturing the little bit tonight Giles. She is just happy to see us is all. Can't really blame her for being over excited."

Dawn flashed Spike a smile. He always knew when to come to her rescue. For Spikes part he was taken aback slightly by the look on Dawns face. She wasn't so much his "little bit" anymore then a young woman. He vowed then and there to keep all the lechers away from her, no one would hurt Dawn as long as he was there, for Buffy's sake he would keep this girl safe.

"So beating heart, what does that mean Spike?" Dawn was back to her questions before Spike even finished his thoughts.

"Damned if I know." Spike shrugged "But at least it kept me from being a lab rat at that hospital. If you don't mind though I need to go to the bathroom." Spike stood up from the table and headed towards the men's washroom at the back of the building.

"You aren't too tired are you Buffy, do we need to head home?" Giles asked a worried look on his face. Buffy shook her head and Giles nodded in reply. "We are going back to my place tonight, but we will get you settled into that new apartment as soon as you are ready."

"Where is this new place Giles? Do I get my own bedroom again?" Dawn asked.

"There are three bedrooms, Dawn. I thought you would like a room to keep your desk and books in once you begin to study."

" Sounds good to me Giles. Although the studying I could do without!" Dawn pulled a face at the thought of being on a schedule again. Giles had been home schooling her over the phone and through selected readings over the last two years. This had suited Dawn just fine as it meant that she could do it whenever she wanted, provided she did it fast enough that Giles was happy. Giles however was confident that his readings and course material had been more than sufficiently difficult that Dawn would have no problem at all in University. She had passed the entrance tests with flying colours after all.

"Come to think of it I need to go to the washroom as well." Dawn announced and stood up from the table, heading in the direction Spike had gone.

The washrooms were located at the back of the store and down a small hallway. After using the washroom dawn stepped out into the dim lighting only to find spike standing right in front of her.

"Oh! You scared me Spike! When did you change your top?" Dawn breathed as she realized who it was.

"It's nice to see you again as well, pet" Spike smirked as he reached out to put a hand on her arm.

"What are you doing? And you were just sitting at the table with me a moment ago. Spike let go that hurts!"

"What I'm going to do to you is going to hurt a lot more if you don't co-operate with me Bit. You will be excellent bait I think."

Dawn whirled as she heard the door to the men's washroom open and her mouth opened in shock as he recognized who had just walked out. His gaze flashed dangerously as she took in the scene before him.

"So," the Spike not holding Dawn said calmly as he leaned against the wall "you must be the bloke goin' round sayin' he's me. I strongly suggest you let go of Dawn before I make you."

"William," the Vampire smiled as he changed his features "I was wondering when you would show up, this will just make it all the more fun."


	9. Chapter 9

-1"Let Dawn go!" Spike growled at the vampire version of himself.

"Sorry William; but I have a desperate need for this little one at the moment."

"She isn't going with you. She stays here. I have no idea what you are, but impersonating a guy is kinda overdone don't you think?"

"Who's impersonating, the way I see it you are still using MY name"

At that moment Dawn regained some of her senses and elbowed the Spike holding her in the stomach, causing him to emit- not a grunt of pain as she had expected- but a laugh. He covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming and alerting her sister, holding her while she tried to twist out of his grasp.

"Vampire love, remember? You're human you can't even bruise me." At this he turned tantalizingly to his other half. "So what are you now? Human again? Poor little weak William who writes poetry and still can't get the girls. Maybe Xander will take you, if you look sorry enough."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I can still kick your ass!"

"Right! I was always your fighting instinct. You are too innocent to kill a fly without me."

"I don't know what type of demon you are, but I'll kill you for touching Dawn!" Spike lunged trying to grab Dawn from the grasp of the vampire, but weeks of lying in a hospital bed had taken its toll on his movements and he wasn't fast enough. The vampire ran into the main lobby of the store with Dawn being dragged along by the arm. The noise attracted not only the notice of the Slayer and her entourage, but also the notice of the other customers as the lunging Spike crashed into one of the free standing tables knocking it over.

Buffy was on her feet in less then ten seconds, stake in hand and ready to kill the vampire holding her sister. Shock slowed her sown for a moment as she realized who she was facing.

"YOU!" She yelled as she attacked the demon in front of her.

"Back for more love?" Spike taunted her "At least you are more of a challenge this time"

"Well this time you are going to dust so I would save your breath for your last" Buffy shot back as she threw her stake forward at the Vampire, catching him in the chest right in front of his heart.

"trying to kill me?" Spike taunted as he pulled the wooden weapon out of his chest, letting it clatter to the floor. "You'll have to try a little better then that!"

"Fine, I'll kill you the old fashioned way." Buffy said as she took a swing at the vampire's open side. This only succeeded in sending the vampire stumbling a couple of steps. Dawn fell, but the vampire still held a tight grasp on her arm.

"Let go!!" Dawn cried in pai, as Spike dragged her back to her feet.

"Willow, some magical assistance could be used at the moment!!" Buffy yelled over the sound of the Vampire laughing.

"I can't! Not without hurting Dawn!" Willow shouted back, but it was too late the vampire had already dragged Dawn out of the ice cream shop.

Buffy followed just in time to see Dawn disappear down a side street. Following at a run Buffy searched the darkness in vain for her sister.

Giles helped the human version of Spike up from the collapsed table.

"That hurts more then I remember" Spike groaned rubbing his ribs where he had landed. "Am I the only one that doesn't know what the hell just happened there." Spike asked as Buffy came running back into the shop.

"Where is Dawn?" Xander asked.

"In the hands of a demon that can fade into the night." Buffy sighed "The worst thing is that I didn't even know he was in here! I can't sense him like I can other demons. How could I let this happen to her?"

"It isn't your fault Buffy" Willow said consolingly looking grim "If anything I think it's mine."

"And mine." Giles sighed.

"What are the two of you talking about?" Spike demanded. "What the hell would you have to do with a demon that is pretending to be me?"

"I think the problem Spike, is that the demon is you." Giles removed his glasses and sat down in one of the now empty booths that had been occupied by customers a few minutes earlier.

"No I'm me." Spike muttered " I know who I bloody am!"

"You are William!" Willow cried almost losing her patience

"Why does everyone insist on calling me that tonight? First that damned demon that took Dawn and now you!" Spike yelled back unable to contain his temper. "I'm Spike I have been for over a hundred years!"

"And before that?" Giles stated quietly from the booth.

"Well ya! I was William then but that time is gone. I was human then. Now I'm, well at the moment I'm not exactly sure what I am because of those bloody bints of goddesses. But…" Spike trailed off unsure of what to say next.

"I think they separated the demon from the human." Willow stated knowing that this was the unmistakable and most terrifying truth. "That means we have a pure demon, one of the strongest in history, on the run with Dawn."

"I was that demon for years." Spike protested "Why is it any different now?"

"Amazingly, Spike I think some part of your human soul always remained within you and that part kept the demon in check. It kept the true power of the demon from showing. You are the only full vampire on record who has ever been able to love, in the true sense of the word that is. The demon was dominant in you that is true, but you loved. I believe that your full soul was only obtainable BECAUSE you already owned part of it." Giles sighed as he finally admitted the truth he had known for some time. The truth that had kept him from killing Spike long before.

"So what does all this mean?" Xander asked

"It means" Willow sighed "That we have the real William standing before us. The demon is a completely separate entity. An entity, that my spell has brought back from hell."

A/N -- REVIEW!!!! PLEASE? puts on puppy dog eyes and sad face


	10. Chapter 10

"Ok, let's do some backtracking" Spike said looking confused

"Ok, let's do some backtracking" Spike said looking confused. "If that was the daemon half of me then why am I not simply a human? I mean I can feel it, I'm as strong as I ever was and I heal as fast as Buffy!"

"Maybe the Powers knew this fight was coming." Willow suggested, "It wouldn't be the first time that they have done things we don't understand."

Spike shrugged they had been really confusing at the time, maybe that is exactly what the bints wanted, him to fight himself.

"Hey, this is like that time in Finial Fantasy, when the dark knight had to fight himself to become a good….." Xander trailed off as he realized that no one else knew what he was talking about. "Of course it's Spike we are talking about here so it's not like he would be good either way…" With that he sulkily returned to his ice cream that had somehow managed to withstand the fight moments earlier.

"Been spending time with Andrew?" Buffy put in. Xander make a face and continued to eat his ice cream.

"Well, here's the plan for tonight" Giles said taking charge as usual, "Buffy you are going to go to the new apartment that I rented, it's possible that the other Spike heard that you were planning on coming to my place and I don't want you any where near him. Willow, you however, are coming with me. We need to find out why Buffy could stake him in the heart and not dust him. Xander, your research help is needed and Spike can come with us too."

"NO way!"

"Not bloody likely" Spike and Buffy managed to say at the same time.

"We need to go after him; and now or Dawn could get hurt! Spike yelled " I was this guy for years and trust me the daemon is nasty, it kills without remorse or thought."

"There is no way I'm going to sit around safe while the little sister I died for is being held by some daemon" Buffy nearly yelled.

"Buffy you don't know how to kill him!" Giles yelled then sighed "What good will it do having both you and Dawn in his hands? Besides we know that he won't hurt her tonight because he is using her to get to you. Give us one night, one, and tomorrow you can go in stakes blazing ready to face whatever, but tonight go to the apartment."

"Fine!" Buffy relented the choice obviously killing her. "Just find me a way to kill that thing and fast."

Hours later at her new apartment Buffy was tossing and turning on the makeshift bed made of couch cushions on the hard wood floor. It was not the state of her sleeping arrangements however that was keeping her awake; it was the thought of what could be happening to her sister.

"That's it" she said sitting up with determination in her voice.

Quickly she dressed and slipped out the fire escape door. She had no idea where to look, but since this bady was looking for her she didn't think she was going to have to look very far.

About half a mile down the road she started to feel something following her,

"Good" she thought grabbing the stake tighter in her hand "it's time for a showdown." but first she wanted the upper ground.

Turning into a darkened alley she stopped behind a dumpster and waited for her quarry to follow. Her eyesight had long been used to seeing in darkened spaces and like any animal of the night she could see with surprising clarity anything that moved in the darkness. That was how she knew for sure, even dressed as he was all in black, that the thing moving towards her was what she was looking for.


End file.
